Production

Possibilities
Frontiers
Antu Panini Murshid-Principles of
Macroeconomics

Todays Agenda

A simple two-good
model of production

Production
possibilities
frontiers

Use PPFs to
illustrate various
concepts
Slope of the PPF
Examples

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Antu Panini Murshid-Principles of

Macroeconomics

Scarcity
Efficiency /
inefficiency
and
unemployment
Opportunity
cost
Economic Growth
Concave PPF
Linear PPF

Production
Possibilities Frontier

Suppose there are only two

goods...

the production possibilities

frontier, is a graph showing the
various combinations of output that
can be produced when all resources
are being utilized in the most
(productively) efficient manner
possible, given the current level of
technology

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Antu Panini Murshid-Principles of

Macroeconomics

Production
Possibilities in a
Two-Good
Economy

Consider an economy that

produces computers and cars
How can we illustrate the
production possibilities for
this economy using a
graph?...

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Antu Panini Murshid-Principles of

Macroeconomics

Attainable and
Unattainable
Production
Possibilities
frontier

3,000

Quantity of
Computers
Produced

Quantity of
Cars Produced

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1,000

All points on or
inside the
frontier are
attainable
Point A is
attainable, so is
point B. In fact
B is better!
Point C is
unattainable
5

Illustrating Concepts
Using a Production
Possibility
Frontier

Scarcity
Efficiency, Inefficiency and
Unemployment
Opportunity Cost
Economic Growth

02/01/16

Antu Panini Murshid-Principles of

Macroeconomics

Scarcity

3,000

C
B

Quantity of
Computers
Produced

All points on or inside

the frontier are
attainable
Points A and B are
attainable
At point C more cars
and computers are being
produced than at A or B
But point C is
unattainable. Why?
Scarcity

Quantity of
Cars Produced

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1,000

Production
possibilities are
bounded

Efficiency,
Inefficiency and
Unemployment All points on the

3,000

Quantity of
Computers
Produced

Inside the
frontier!

Quantity of
Cars Produced

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1,000

PPF are attainable

if society uses all
of its resources in
a productively
efficient manner
But point A, which
is not on the
frontier, is also
attainable.
What is happening at
A?
Waste

Unemployment
Inefficiency
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Opportunity Cost

3,000

Not Possible!

B2 C

2,000

B1

1,500
Quantity of
Computers
Produced

0 Quantity of 600 800 1,000

Cars Produced
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Start at B1800 cars and

1500 computers
Say we want to increase
the number computers to
2000
At point B2 we are
producing 2000
computers, but only 600
cars. To increase
computer-production by
500, we must give up
car-production by 200
The negative slope of
the PPF implies that
whenever we increase
production of one good
we must give up some of
the other good
9

Economic GrowthLong
Run
4,000

Over time an
economy can grow

3,000

Quantity of
Computers
Produced

Quantity of
Cars Produced

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1,000

1,500

More labor and

capital
Technological
progress

What happens to the

PPF?
Shifts outward!
Previously
unattainable levels
of production
now become
attainable
10

Economic GrowthShort
Run

Consider an economy at
point A

3,000

B
Quantity of
Computers
Produced

Suppose the central

bank cuts interest
rates to bring the
economy out of
recession
The economy moves to B

Quantity of
Cars Produced

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1,000

Recession
High unemployment

Unemployment falls,
output increases
But production
possibilities are
unaffected
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Why Does the PPF Bow

Outward?

PPF does not necessarily have to be

concave!
But it is reasonable assumption. Why?
Because not all resources are equally
suited at producing the same good
Computer manufacturers make poor car
makers and vice versa
If more and more resources were diverted
into the production of cars say, then even
computer manufacturers would find
themselves on the automobile assembly
line. But their productivity would be low!

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Antu Panini Murshid-Principles of

Macroeconomics

12

Illustrating the Point

3,000

As we move up
the PPF its
slope decreases

Suppose we go from A to
B. Production of cars is
virtually unaffected,
but production of
computers falls by 750!

Quantity of
Computers
Produced

750

B
0
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250 Quantity of
Cars
Produced

1,000

Computer manufacturers
are lousy at making cars
PPF is steep

Suppose we go from C to
D. Production of
computers is virtually
unaffected, but
production of cars
decreases by 250!

Car makers are lousy at

making computers
PPF is flat
13

Linear PPFs

3,000

Quantity of
Computers
Produced

Slope =
Y/ X
Slope at
A A
equals
Slope at B
B
X

Quantity of
Cars Produced

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1,000

The slope of the PPF.

measures the
opportunity cost of
producing good X (in
this case cars) in terms
of good Y (in this case
computers)
If the PPF is linear,
then the opportunity
cost of producing X in
terms of Y is constant
at all levels of
production
This is unrealistic, but
linear PPFs are easier
to deal with
14

Marginal Rate of
Transformation

The slope of the PPF is sometimes

called the marginal rate of
transformation of good X (in this
case cars) for good Y (in this
case computers)
For linear PPFs the MRTXY is
constant
For concave PPFs the MRTXY (o/c of
X in terms of Y) increases with X

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Antu Panini Murshid-Principles of

Macroeconomics

15

Measuring the
Opportunity Cost

3,000

2,400
Quantity of
Computers
Produced

Slope =
Y/ X

600

X
0

200

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800 1,000

Quantity of
Cars Produced

What is the
opportunity cost of
producing cars?
Pick any two points
on the PPF
As we move from A to
B
DY = -1800 and
DX = 600
Slope = -1800/600 =
-3
O/C of 1 car is 3
computers
16

Summary

A PPF shows all combinations of goods and

services that can be produced given
available resources and technology
The PPF is used to illustrate concepts
such as scarcity and opportunity cost
The slope of the PPF measures the o/c of
producing good X in terms of good Y
The curvature of the PPF reflects
increasing opportunity cost when
substituting one type of production for
another

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Antu Panini Murshid-Principles of

Macroeconomics

17